Elena Serova

Russian State Duma Deputy, ex-cosmonaut

"From the board of the International Space Station, I got to see with the naked eye, how the bombs and shells exploded in the territory of Donetsk and Luhansk. And they were flying from the side of the location of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. At that time, unarmed people died there."

Serova claimed she saw artillery shelling, at night, from an approximate altitude of 408 km (254 mi), and was able to determine where the shells were being fired from and where they landed. This is impossible.

With India and Turkey opting to buy the Russian-made S-400 air defense system despite U.S. objections, the former vice chief of the Indian Air Force claims the S-400 is top-flight. Whether or not it is peerless, the S-400 arguably stacks up well against the world’s best air defense systems.

The object was a Russian-made S-200 surface-to-air missile launched by the Syrian military in response to an Israeli airstrike. RIA Novosti continued to call it an "unidentified object" in its headline.

Maria Zakharova

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson

“The Ukrainian side not only refused to utilize the procedures for release (of the sailors) that already exist in Russian law, but, in principle, even to discuss this issue. Kyiv does not need these sailors; Kyiv needs the uproar surrounding the sailors.”

In reality, Moscow did not offer to free the Ukrainian sailors and vessels immediately, as ordered by the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, but simply to allow Kyiv to participate in Russia’s criminal investigation into the sailors’ alleged violation of its maritime borders.

Andrei Kartapolov

Russian Deputy Defense Minister

"On the Internet, projects of the American special services, such as … Metal Gear and RuNet Echo, are being implemented, aimed at direct manipulation of public consciousness and especially young people.”

The Metal Gear series was created by video game designer Hideo Kojima in Japan in 1987. It is published by the Japanese company Konami. The games’ themes are often critical of various governments, including that of the U.S.

Vladimir Putin

President of Russia

“Look, as for the private companies, including the private security companies under which the people you have mentioned were operating – this is not the Russian state, and they are not engaged in combat.”

Russian mercenaries have been killed fighting in Syria yet private military companies (PMCs) are still illegal under Russian law: they cannot operate in Syria without permission from Russia’s Defense Ministry.

Vladimir Putin

Russian President

“Russia never ducks its responsibilities, when it shoulders the responsibility. But what we have seen, what has been presented as evidence, we find absolutely unacceptable. We believe, there is absolutely no proof. What was presented doesn’t prove anything. Where is the absolute evidence that it was the rebels who fired (the missile) or somebody else? There are many questions, but they don’t answer them. They have already made up their mind who is guilty, once and for all. We cannot accept such an approach to an investigation. ”

After his annual call-in show on June 20, Russian President Vladimir Putin told journalists there was no proof Russia is to blame for the 2014 downing of MH17 over eastern Ukraine. However, the evidence presented by investigators showing the Kremlin's culpability in the tragedy is undeniable.

Vladimir Solovyov, Russian TV host

Russian TV host

"We understand the hurt feelings of [Polish President Andrzej] Duda, but it is unclear who insulted him. In any case, it wasn’t Russia and its wasn’t the Russian soldiers, who liberated the great fighting Poles from the Nazis."

While visiting the U.S., Poland's president spoke of his country's tragic WWII history, spurring a Russian TV host to say that “offense” could not stem from Russia, which "liberated" the Poles from the Nazis.” Missing from those comments, however, was the Soviet Union’s occupation of eastern Poland.

Russian Ministry of Defense

"Aircraft of the Russian Aerospace Forces made four bombing strikes against terrorists in Idlib, the Defense Ministry reported. The coordinates for the attack were indicated by Ankara. This happened after the allied terrorists of Jabhat al-Nusra fired at a Turkish army observation post, despite a cease-fire agreement."

Russian Navy Pacific Fleet press service

Military press service

"The US cruiser Chancellorsville suddenly changed its course and crossed the Admiral Vinogradov destroyer’s course some 50 meters away from the ship. In order to prevent a collision, the Admiral Vinogradov’s crew was forced to conduct an emergency maneuver."

Maria Zakharova

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman

“The Normandy landings were not a game-changer for the outcome of WWII and the Great Patriotic War. The outcome was determined by the Red Army’s victories – mainly, in Stalingrad and Kursk. For three years, the UK and then the US dragged out opening the second front.”

Prior to the 75th anniversary of D-Day, the Russian Foreign Ministry said that effort to liberate Nazi-occupied France was not a Second World War "game changer." While the large Soviet sacrifice in defeating Nazi Germany cannot be understated, historians agree that D-Day was pivotal.